Undercurrent
by Missblu96
Summary: Ariel deals with the preasure of being on the swim team and dealing with her friendships. She attemds Walt high school, along with Rapunzel and Belle.


Chapter one

The sand was cold. it burned slightly under Ariel's feet. The sea was roaring in front of her, angrily crashing onto the shore. She loved how black it was at night. The ocean looked like a giant abyss, yelling at her to stay away but begging her to come closer. She loved the unforgiving sand and how it felt between her toes, she loved the ferocious wind and how it ripped and tore at her clothes. As if it wanted her to shed her extra layers and join the the ocean beautifully hidden before her. She knew of the romantic sea life and how gentle these waters could be.

Ariel gave in to the winds suggestion and the oceans temptation, she took off her windbreaker and her coat underneath it. She set the clothes on top her shoes where they resting in the cold sand. Then Ariel took off her shorts and set them atop the pile. She was thankful for the dark and no one was around to see her. She walked into the water and felt the cold pierce her feet. The ocean pulled back into a snarl and then crashed into the sand, louder than before. She ran into the blackness, fearless, with a smile on her face.

It had to be November. Ariel thought as she walked along the sidewalk, the chilly November air easily clinging to her in her thin sweater. She was on her way home from a party that her best friend was having. It was sort of a tradition for all the seniors to have this big party the week after school had started. Since her best friend happened to be pretty famous among their fellow classmates, they all volunteered her. She only agreed because her mom always goes away on these crazy trips and is gone for weeks at a time.

Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she picked it up without looking at the number.

"Hey, where'd you disappear to?" Her friends voice sang on the other end into her ear way to loudly. Ariel pulled the phone away and switched ears since her other one was ringing. She could hear the sounds of seniors parting in the background.

"I left." She responded. "I told Belle to tell you I had to go." She wondered if Belle was even there still either.

"Oh right." Rapunzel said. The noise in the background faded and Ariel could tell she probably went outside or into another room. "You have that swim thing right?" She asked.

Ariel looked down the street as an oncoming car raced across an intersection with a stop sign. Some people, Ariel thought. "Yeah. The swim thing. Are you going to come? Belle said she would try to be there."

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" She said in her typical voice of excitement which sounds more like a song then it should. Then someone in the background calls her name and she yells that she'll be there in a minute. Ariel smiles, one of the things about being friends with Rapunzel is having to get use to her bold out-goingness and that she's very much a people person.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well or something. Say hi to your dad for me." Then she laughs and hangs up. She thinks she's so funny. Ariel snuck out to go to the party and her Father would flip a lid if he found out she was leaving at night to go to a party. It was almost three in the morning and she rounded the corner and saw her house. It was small and hid behind the house on the corner. The house was set further on the property and had an older design to it. She walked around to the back and found her open window on the other side of the house. She climbed the window with to much ease and then quietly shed her party clothes and replaced them with a big shirt and climbed into bed.

The wind from her window blew into her room and the salty air made her think of the ocean, if she listened carefully she could almost hear the waves crashing into the shore in the distance. Ariel slowly drifted asleep thinking of the hypnotic way the sea moved when she was past the undercurrent and would submerse herself and feel the ocean alive all around her.

The sun shinned to bright int her room and she glanced at her alarm clock. Shit! Ariel thought. It was an hour after she wanted to wake up. She skipped the shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater over her night shirt. She collected her crazy hair into a ponytail, grabbed her shoes, her bag and was out of her room in seconds. She ran down the hall and saw her dad was already gone for work so she skipped breakfast and drove as fast as she could without looking like a maniac. When she arrived at Walt High School, the lot was nearly full so she parked in the curb and ran to meet her swim teacher.

He was standing outside the girls locker room pacing. When he saw the bright red hair, he calmed down and watched his star swimmer arrive, late. Again. He gave her a look.

"Yes I know I'm late and I'm sorry. I'm here arn't I?" She responded to his look. He just sighed and ushered her into the locker room. She changed slowly and then checked her phone for any messages. One from Belle saying she was in the crowd and wished her luck. Nothing from Rapunzel. She's probably home sleeping off all the alcohol, Ariel thought. She shoved the phone into her locker and slammed the door shut. The other girls looked at her and she glared at them back. They quickly averted their eyes.

Ariel wasn't exactly sure why she was so mad at Rapunzel. She did this all the time, it wasn't like she promised or anything. Ariel shook her hair out and quickly brushed it, trying and failing to make it flat. The sea water always made her hair so unmanageable. She put as much of it into her swimming cap as she could and grabbed her goggles and towel.

Outside was warmer then she expected and pushed her sour mood towards her friend aside as she soaked up the delicious sun. It felt good to have the heat on her bare arms and legs, it made the initial dive so much more powerful. She was the best swimmer her school had, she was naturally a good swimmer, as far as she was concerned. The thrill and rush of the adrenaline as she pumped her arms and powered her legs was what made it all worth it. She done so many lapse in the chlorinated water she couldn't even count. Today was a swim meet and she was going to push herself to do the lapse in under 36 minutes.

When she finished she quickly got out and walked over to her coach, he had the stopwatch and was looking at it in an odd look. Almost like disbelief. She nailed it, Ariel walked up to him confidently, still soaking wet.

"How'd i do coach?" She asked with a smile. He looked at her and showed her the time. 37 minutes it read. Her smile was frozen on her face. She'd never gone up before. Never. She looked at her coach. He was just messing with her, he had to be. It was a sick joke. He just looked at the watch and then wrote it down.

"No. I did better than that. I don't believe it." She stammered, taking her hair cap off and letting her hair fall out in a wave of brilliant red. She was a little preoccupied with Rapunzel when she was swimming.

Urgh, please don't tell me it was her fault. Ariel thought as she slowly became more frustrated. She turned and scanned the crowd and found Belle reading some book, and an empty seat next to her. She looked back at her coach and hung her head. Her hair dripping fat drops on the smooth concrete.

"Just work harder tomorrow after school." He said and patted her shoulder. "Try not to let this happen again." He said sternly. Then walked over to another girl. At least no one beat her. Not like anyone here _could_.

Ariel walked slowly the locker room and changed even slower. She checked her phone and saw she had a missed call from Rapunzel. She tossed the phone into her bag without another look. She knew she wasn't being fair at all. It wasn't like Rapunzel purposely sabotaged her meet, she just wished she would actually do what she says she'll do.

She met up with Belle in the parking lot and saw her leaning against her car on the sidewalk side. When Ariel got close enough to be noticed, Belle looked up from the top of her glasses and smiled at her. She tucked her glasses into her spot in the book and stowed her book into her backpack.

"How was the swim?" She says so nonchalant. Expecting her normal answer. Instead Ariel doesn't say anything and just unlocked her car and climbed into the drivers seat. Belle follows suit and gets into the passenger seat, finally picking up on her friends rather down mood. "What's wrong?" Belle asks.

Ariel stares out the windshield for a second and mulls over different answers. She's not sure how to put to words her current feelings about Rapunzel, so she goes for a half truth. "I got a slower time today."

Belle thinks for a second. Then turns and gives Ariel a blank look.

Ariel smiles slightly, "I normally get around 35 minutes but today it was 36." She says sheepishly. Like she's admitting cheating on a midterm.

Understanding lights up her friends face and she nods. "Was it because of Rapunzel?" She asks, clearly seeing through Ariel's mood.

Ariel doesn't say anything. She just watches a girl on her team walk down the side of the street holding hands with a boy she thinks is in one of her classes. "She called me to tell me that she forgot she had an art show today and to apologize for missing your 'swim thing', her words." Belle exclaims.

Ariel knew it was something. It was always something. Of course she couldn't miss an art show, but a swim meet she's been telling Rapunzel about for a week? Eh, it's okay. Ariel shakes her head and tries really hard to not start crying. She blinks a couple of times and then starts the car and drives Belle home.


End file.
